This Teen Came Up With A Game-changing Invention That NASA Probably Wishes It Had Thought Of First

February 11, 2020, 4:53 pm

Influential Kids

There are plenty of influential kids today all over the world. Just recently, much to the dismay of those who refuse to believe in climate change, Greta Thurnberg was named Time Magazine’s Person Of The Year 2018. Greta is a teenage girl with Asperger’s syndrome and has been very vocal about her desire for the world to make changes now to save our planet for the future. When Time Magazine honored her with this title, she was immediately bullied online by Donald Trump and his son. Donald Trump refuses to accept that fact that climate change is real, despite the scientific evidence. The idea of the President of the United States trolling a young girl who is just trying to make the world a better place is deplorable. It just goes to show what a danger he is to the U.S. Another influential youngster is Fionn Ferreira.

Fionn Ferreira

Fionn is an 18-year-old boy from a village called, Ballydehob in County Cork, Ireland. He may be a teenager, but he isn’t your average teenager. He is already an accomplished scientist. This teen came up with a game-changing invention that NASA probably wishes it had thought of first.

Microplastics

Like Greta, Fionn is worried about the environment. He placed his focus on a very serious problem that our planet is facing today, microplastics. For years, it was believed that facial scrubs and cosmetics were putting microplastics in the water. While a very small amount of microplastics come from these products, the real problem is pollution. Plastic bags, plastic containers, and other pollutants in the water break down. When this happens, it causes microplastics. These are small particles of plastic that are smaller than 5mm. This is very small, and may not seem harmful, but they are. When these particles are found in the waters, the fish consume them, which results in humans being exposed to the microplastics when we eat the fish. There are likely more dangers of microplastics that we don’t yet know. Because these particles are so small, they cannot be adequately filtered. Fionn decided to find another way to extract the microplastic from the water.

An Idea Is Born

One day, Fionn was out on the sea in his kayak. While on the water, he noticed an oil-covered rock, and attached to it were microplastic fragments. He wondered if he could create something similar but on a larger scale to harness and filter microplastics from the water. Fionn already knew that scientists are worried about the impact that microplastics have on humans, and seeing the oil-covered rock sparked an idea.

Using a NASA Invention

In 1963, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) invented a ferrofluid, which is a liquid that has magnetic properties. Fionn started to wonder if he could use the substance to gather and remove microplastics from the water.

Creating a Home Lab

Fionn decided to set up a lab at home to try to prove his theory. While setting up his home lab, he used improvised equipment. Using a combination of magnetite powder and cooking oil, he managed to make his own ferrofluid. During his experiments, he managed to prove that the fluid combined well with the microplastics. He figured that he could use a magnet after to remove the pollutant. He performed extensive testing, which involved him performing over 1,000 experiments. He completed his experiments in a test tube and found that his method was 87 percent effective. He proved that there is a chance if his method is scaled up to an industrial level, he found a way to remove microplastics from the water.

Award-Winning Research

Fionn decided to take his work to the Google Science Fair in 2019. He figured that he could prove to the world that this method could be useful in cleaning up the Earth’s oceans while earning some money for college. He won the Grand Prize and was awarded $50,000. Fionn says that it isn’t the money that drew him to participate in the science fair. He wants established scientists to see his work so that it can be created on a larger scale. Just winning the science far won’t be enough for Fionn. He won’t be happy until his method is put into use to start cleaning up our planet’s oceans.

Our Planet’s Future

We are lucky that we have kids in this world like Fionn and Greta. They may just be in their teens, but they are making huge strides in saving our planet. These two kids, and others like them, want a safe place to grow up and to have families of their own. Greta works hard to get people to understand the damage that we are doing to our planet, and Fionn is working hard to find ways to repair the damage that has already been done.

Trending Now

I Dream Of Jeannie I Dream Of Jeannie ran from 1965 to 1970, and the show received rave reviews. The series focused on Captain Tony Nelson, a NASA astronaut, and his wife, who was a Jeannie in a bottle. You may have watched the show, but don’t really know what happened behind the scenes. Here, […] More

Nia and Robert Tolbert Nia and Robert live in Waldorf, Maryland, and they met in 2007 through mutual friends. They both say that the day they met, it was love at first sight. They started dating shortly after meeting, and things just got better from there. They had been dating for a few years, and […] More

Buying An Old House When you buy an old house, you have no way of knowing what lies beneath the floors of the walls of your new home. Unless you have the original blueprints, you won’t know if there are hidden rooms or passageways that have been sealed up for years. One man discovered something […] More

August 12, 2019, 12:16 pm

Recent Posts

If you love photography, then you have come across some photos taken before things went really wrong. Some of the pictures are hilarious, while others are cringe-worthy. But that’s the beauty of photography. Watch Out For The Cargo The cargo ship almost toppled over. Believe it or not, the boat didn’t flip over, and nobody […] More

Football Each football player has its own purpose. The role of a linebacker is protection. It is the linebacker’s job to defend the goal area on the field. They are also responsible for blocking plays by the opposing team. Before each play, the linebackers stand behind the line of scrimmage in front of the safeties. […] More

Arlene Nickless Arlene Nickless’s husband Tim died suddenly, leaving her family devastated. She was married to Tim for 18 years. He contracted an illness when he used contaminated medical supplies. He fought the disease for seven years, before passing away in January 2008. Arlene was trying her best to raise her three kids alone, which […] More

Kim and Travis Guiley Kim and Travis are a happily married couple from Santa Cruz, California. At the age of 28, Kim was working as a doula. It was her job to offer non-medical support to families before, during, and after pregnancy. Three years after Kim and Travis got married, Kim got pregnant with their […] More

Common Phrases There are plenty of common phrases today that most people don’t know where they came from. To people in other places, who speak other languages, some of these phrases can sound absurd. If you have ever wondered where these phrases came from, you are about to find out. Here are the unusual origins […] More

VapoRub When many people get sick, the first thing they do is head to the medicine cabinet to get some Vicks VapoRub. When you rub VapoRub on your chest, it can relieve your nasal and chest congestion. What you may not know is that VapoRub has many other purposes. Here are 20 interesting alternative uses […] More